Houston Texans Starting Ryan Mallett Was A Matter of Time
By Erik Lambert
Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Was it a plan? Looking at it from the big picture point of view, it sure seems like the Houston Texans knew what they were doing. People were curious why the team refused to start Ryan Mallett immediately when they traded for him at the beginning of the season from the New England Patriots. Instead they waited a number of weeks and only now, heading into November did they make the announcement.
Texans name new starting QB: Ryan Mallett, who has played in 5 games in his career and thrown 4 passes, in place of Ryan Fitzpatrick
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 5, 2014
Why? Well the reasoning isn’t that hard to figure out. One must remember it’s very hard for teams to implement players into a system right away and have success. Mallett did not know the offense or his teammates to a point where he could be expected to impact games. Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick had already been there, he was experienced in learning offenses quickly and was expected to get first crack at the starting job as he was promised.
However, the plan was likely always to give Ryan Mallett his shot. That’s why they traded for him afterall. What the Houston Texans did was give him over two months to sit back and learn the offense by watching Fitzpatrick and get acclimated to his new coaches so that when he was called upon he would be better prepared.
If he truly is their future, they should know within the next couple weeks.